Confessions of a Citroholic

[RichardW]

Xantia now on 90k. Picasso had to have both front wheel bearings done, and now needs a caliper fitting kit to cure an annoying rattle (hmmm....coincidence?). Dillon now crawling and into everything - bit before he is up to car fixing though! Work manic. Welded up the handle on my Dad's lawnmower last weekend - a doddle with angle grinder and MIG - what did we do before power tools? Just pushed the order button on a lot of Bamboo flooring for the house, so that is a few hours fitting work to do. Still, at least with new front and back doors, we are nearly there on the house. Perhaps I will get some free time next year!

Not much to say for 3.5 months really is it....

[RichardW]

Picasso has been back to have one of the wheel bearings done again - fortunately FOC! Needs new discs on the front fairly urgently, and the garage reported that the NS drop link was broken - indeed it was, sheared off where the rod was welded to the bottom joint. I've refitted the one i took off 6 months ago (I was never convinced it was knackered so it kept it as spare). I'm only going to buy OE drop links from now on - aftermarket ones are rubbish! We've also been having spring noises, and on jacking it up sure enough 3/4 of the top coil are broken off, so it'll have to go back and have that done. The spring has jumped off the top cup and is resting on the inner wing, but the car is still sitting level

The Xantia needs some time and money spending on it, as listed in another thread on here. Get it through its MOT and then see about the alternator and cambelt, and rear brakes, and, and, and

Social secretary informs me we have no free weekends for the next month or so though, so not sure when it is going to get fixed

[CitroJim]

Oh dear Richard, sounds like these tin spring Citroens give more suspension problems than their hydraulic bretheren

Shame really the Picasson never had a hydraulic option, it would have made a good car absolutely excellent. It's crying out for it...

Hope some free weekend and good weather coincide soon!

[RichardW]

Indeed - the bottom of the spring is fitted with a protective cup to retain the end of the spring WHEN it breaks (not if...) - these were retrofitted to earlier cars under a recall I believe, after owners complained of the springs breaking and spearing the tyres fitted as standard after about 2002. Trouble is Haynes reckons you need to compress the spring under the wing to get it out - I haven't got any compressors - or any time Modern springs do seem to be rubbish!

Indeed it would have been good with 'real' suspension - it's otherwise excellent, but it does bounce a bit! The C4 Grand Picasso is (or was anyway) available with Pneumatic rear suspension which is nearly there. I guess the target market didn't warrant the added expense / complexity of hydraulics

[RichardW]

Ah well, only 10 months since last update. Today I was thinking of alternative uses for a trolley jack:



SWMBO started an argument between the door and the towbar on the Xantia Not too bad now!

Xantia now just past 111,111 and I have recently changed the cambelt etc, and it's going much better now. New alternator was fitted that quietened it down. Still need to do the rear brakes before the MOT, and try and sort the electrical gremlin that is causing some weirdness with the rear wiper. Boot liner is leaking again too Otherwise it just keeps going!

Picasso now over 75k. Going OK, but NSF wheel bearing has gone again - going to get a a decent bearing fitted next time!

Other Citroen activity involved taking the junk off the Visa and pushing it out of the garage to get the Xantia (part) in to do the cambelt, and changing the clutch on my mate's C5 2.0 HDi 16V - hope the clutch on the Xantia keeps going, not fancying another one just yet.....

[RichardW]

Following on from comments in steelcity's thread about weekend work, I am in the throes of relaying the drive....

Start here:



Add this:



Some help:



Lots of this activity



Chaos reigns Saturday lunch time



Looking better by end of Saturday:



Removed this



Which leaves this:



Next weekend sees the laying of the blocks.....

[RichardW]

Blocks arrived - do I really need this many....



Edges in, and first go at laying sand (a mistake really, but you live and learn!)

The last bit of screeded sand - we were getting quite good at it by this stage!

Drain detail at the garage (soak away to sort, and garden level to correct...and the garage door needs a good clean!)


The 'finished' product - still some odds and ends to do. About 10 days hard graft, but probably about half the price of paying some one to do it - and it wasn't cheap


parking of multiple Citroens is optional when undertaking this sort of work Missed one in those pics as my Sister's Xsara was here some of the time too!

[CitroJim]

That looks a lovely drive Richard

I just hope the cars don't disgrace themselves and leave little puddles on it - especially green ones....

I think of doing mine sometimes but then when I look at it with copious oil and LHM stains on it I decide the old concrete can soldier on for a while yet.

Xac had a better idea for mine - dig a pit in the middle of it...

I'm tempted...

[Deanxm]

Nice work Richard, ive got that to do this year but im going for gravel as ive had enough .
im tempted by a pit too Jim, would be so much easier for setting the activa up and height corrector lubing

D

[CitroJim]

would be so much easier for setting the activa up

Precisely

Gravel Dean? Is that a good idea? It's an awful surface to work on and jacking up is hard on it too...

Unless that's for your 'show' drive and you have another more practically surfaced work area

[Deanxm]

yes the drive will be gravel but there is another space in front of the shed in the back garden that i work on, now complete with oil stains too


D

[RichardW]

As ever a while since the last update...

A 3 year old takes up rather a lot of your time, and he has now been joined by Son No 2, Toby, - a potential army of Citroen Mechanics in the making He's now 6 weeks old, and doing well.

We've added to the Citroen Fleet too - an '08 C4 Grand Picasso arrived his weekend. First impressions are very positive, let's hope it gives good service. Depending on what the MOT man says about the Xantia on Thursday, then either the Xantia or the Xsara Picasso will be departing soon.

Last weekend was spent running a new water main to the house, as the old one appeard to have developed a leak somewhere - never found out where, could just hear the pipe singing in the bathroom....

[CitroJim]

Good news on the Grand Picasso Richard, just the job for a growing family

I'm sure the Xantia will be fine at the MOT

I had a leaky pipe like yours when I lived in Cyprus. Difference was I knew nothing of it until the water bill arrived....

£C. 1700 A real sum of money in 1984 Hope you found yours before the bill got too big....

[RichardW]

Cheers Jim, will see about the Xantia, could need some new pipes / ball joints on the front / rear brakes etc - could easily be £500 at garage rates, but I do have a spare car if I need to take it off the road for a few days. Finding the time on the other hand....!

No water meter here fortunately - the biggest concern was that the water was leaking under the house somewhere. Still to get the bill for the outside work for that one - my FiL and I did all the inside work though.

[Citroenmad]

Congratulations on your two new arrivals The Grand Picasso is a very nice looking MPV in my opinion.

An old family friend went away to his house in France last winter, when he returned a few months later his bungalow (which is its own on a farm) was like a swimming pool due to a burst pipe in the loft. The water bill was extortionate, unfortunate really, not only do you have the cost of replacing all the ceilings, furniture, wall plaster etc but also the bill for the water itself.